(question for Scott and Mitch at the bottom of the article!! #AskSuperfruit)

It’s been a while! Sorry for the looong interruption, but I needed to go back to my family and RL friends, to reconnect with them. It was a lot of fun (well, not only, let’s get real: family isn’t always easy to go on with…) but it did me good. I had a really good time with my friends on different occasions and that was really really cool.

Soooo… WHAT’S NEW?! Did I ever tell you about my obsessions? Sometimes (all the time, really), when I hear a new song or a new group I fall in love with, I can get a bit obsessive. Like, listening to the song a hundred times in a row. For real. I did it for Trespassing by Adam Lambert. After that, my kids asked if they could get me headphones for Mother Day… I got the message (and the headphones!) and now, I try to do it when they’re not home.

BUT I have now a WEEKLY OBSESSION! It’s Superfruit!!! (more like daily obsession!)

(for those who already know them, it will ring a LOUD bell, and for those who don’t, let me introduce them to you).

I first fell in love with Pentatonix in 2015, thanks to my friend Petra. She sent me this awesome video of a Stromae cover, Papaoutai.

I was literally blown away by their performance. I didn’t know them at all (where was I?! It seems I was living on another planet, because they were already quite famous).

Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi and Kirstie Maldonado were best friends and started singing together in High School. Then, they met Avi Kaplan thanks to a mutual friend, and Kevin Olusola on a YouTube video. What makes this group so awesomely AWESOME (sorry, I can get a little excited, remember, they’re my OBSESSSSSSION!! lol), is that they’re an a cappella group, but the modern version of it. Kevin is a beatboxer and Avi is a bass who makes impressive sounds with his mouth. Together, they enhance the beautiful voices of the other three.

BUT what is SUPERFRUIT then? See, Mitch and Scott have been BFFs since they were ten. They’re now 24. And in 2013 they started this crazy YouTube channel called (the suspense is killing you I bet) Superfruit. They’re sweet, funny, crazy, and talented as **ck (what does it possibly mean?… duck…? co**…? I’m confused. Or not). They even have merchandise now with their logo, a red strawberry, on it. You can purchase items on their official store: sup3rfruitstore.com

What are they like? (to me)

Mitch is a sassy, twinky, funny, groovy, hotty Superfruity queen. His laugh is just adorable and I lost count of his tattoos. I think he secretly gets one more between videos. I also lost count of his different hair colors and hair cuts. The one I disliked most was when he went bald. Scott did it to him (he asked for it!) during one of the videos. The one I loved the most was when he died his air purple. It was so him.

He’s also a fashion addict. Sometimes I think his fashion choices are a bit… daring, to say the least, but it suits him very much. He’d look good in anything anyway.

Here he is, during his Iceland trip with Scott. Isn’t he gorgeous! That smile…

Photo taken by @ShawnAdeli. Source: Twitter

Scott is a blond God with sexy dimples and a heart of gold. Sometimes, he looks at Mitch with those loving, adoring, I-wanna-lick-your-face-but-let’s-wait-until-this-video-is-over eyes. It’s that kind of moment when you can only sigh. You know what I mean? He hasn’t changed much his hair style since I *know* him, but sometimes he lets his beard grow a bit. I love it. He also have a gorgeous laugh and he and Mitch have matching tattoos.

Here’s a photo of him, also in Iceland.

Source: TwitterI don’t know who took it.

They’re very sweet together, always in synch, as if they already knew what the other was gonna say. They started (or was it someone other than them? I don’t know) to call themselves Scömìche (Scott and Mitch of course). They did everything to let us think they were a couple, like a joke. And in a video made by Andpop, Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi, their life story (click on the link to watch it), they admitted they played us…

All right, then. So WHY-OH-WHY did I see a tweet (that I can’t find anymore) by Mitch saying « guys… scomiche is real » at the early beginning of January? Actually, it was a screen shot Mitch had done, showing the number of RT and love they received for tweeting (or is it « twitting »? I don’t know!) that. I’d be so happy for us if it as real. They’re made for each other. But I can understand why they wouldn’t put their precious friendship in jeopardy.

They often do a Q&A session on their YouTube channel. Basically, you tag them with #AskSuperfruit on Twitter and ask whatever, and when they do the video, they choose several questions and answer them.

Scott and Mitch, if you ever have the crazy idea to look in this direction while you search for questions to answer, please answer this one:

Have I lost my mind when I saw that scomiche was real, like really real?! Pretty please?

I love you so much, thanks for inspiring me everyday. I literally listen to you every-ddddducking day!! (eww it reminds me of the Manila video with the baby ducks? eww… no ducks then but you got what I was saying)

For everyone who hasn’t met their awesomeness yet, go check them out. They can be found basically everywhere on the social medias, but I follow them mostly on Twitter and YouTube. They also have a live.me thing. It’s cool too.

Thanks for reading, guys! Don’t forget to share if you liked it and comment if you have anything to add!

I met Phetra online a while ago, thanks to a mutual friend. As a self-published M/M author, I hang out on social networks as much as I have the time; there, I have the pleasure to get to know great people like Phetra. When she first released Haven’s Revenge, I was thrilled. Happy for her, first because I know the joy you feel when your book finally gets to see the light outside of your writing cave, but also because the story looked intriguing. Judge for yourself:

Haven Naranjo is a proud Caddo Indian, with a frightening past. He was a mere fifteen-year-old boy when he found his parents, part of his tribe, and his high school sweetheart slaughtered by a wereman gone mad. Falling victim to a system unable to deal with a shattered young mind, Haven finally gives up on himself. He grows up to be bitter and resentful toward the creatures he hates: werewolves.

Alexander Prescott has known since he hit puberty that Haven is his true mate. But there’s one problem: Alexander comes from a large werewolf clan and is the true vessel of the Fenrir Ulv, destined to become the leader of all supernatural beings: the King of Wolves.

Alexander knows how to charm his, and his wolf’s, way into the grumpy Caddo Indian man’s heart. But fate has other plans for them.

When war between the Asa Gods and the Fenrir Ulv threatens, which side will the damaged Haven choose? Will he find a way of trusting those, especially Alexander, who he feels betrayed him? Or will he trust the words of strangers, who promise to make his quest of seeing all shifters dead a reality?

Haven’s Revenge is a story of an emotional journey for a whole community. It’s about finding acceptance not just from others but in yourself.

Enthralling, right? Yeah, I know! Just from the blurb, you can guess there will be a lot of action in this book, but also a lot of different emotions, from anger to sadness and, eventually, true joy.

So, when she offered me to read it in exchange for an honest review, I was even more thrilled!!

You have to get the context… 😉 I was on holiday when I started reading Haven’s Revenge, on the Costa Dorada in Spain. I hadn’t taken holidays since last Christmas and I really—truly, deeply, incredibly—needed it! So, close your eyes for a minute—actually no, don’t, or you won’t be able to read what’s to come…—and picture that: me, on the golden white sand on the beach, on a very sunny day (like almost 100°F!), hearing nothing but Phetra’s voice in my head, telling me the story of her boys.

A view of Salou, Spain, near the beach of Miami Platja, where I spent a week holiday reading Phetra’s book—among other things 😉

I don’t want to ruin the fun and spoil Haven’s Revenge for you. So, I won’t tell you what happens. Just know that Phetra H. Novak mixes the Norse mythology—the Asa Gods and the Fenrir wolf—with the Caddo Indian culture, against a backdrop of shifters and M/M romance. I’ve never seen any book like hers. With her words, she paints humans and shifters’ emotions like few writers do, taking the reader into her claws from the beginning to the very end. I can’t wait to read her next book in the series, and I’m sure you’ll want to read Fated Future too, the short prequel where lay the foundations of Haven’s Revenge. You can find her books on Amazon.

Haven’s Revenge will be out for your pleasure tomorrow, on August 15th.This is its second edition, published by Debbie McGowan‘s publishing company, Beaten Track Publishing. Click on the links (the names, right there, in blue-green? Yes, that’s it!) to discover their catalog. I’ll talk more about BTP in a post very soon…

Thank you, Phetra, for you introduced me to your world. I wish your books—Haven’s Revenge and all the others—a lot of success!

A short word to tell you Three of Hearts, a steamy MMM romance Mathias P.Sagan and I wrote earlier this year in French is finally out in English. It’s been a long process and we’re glad it’s live now!!

This is what the story is about:

When three hearts meet…

Julien and Guillaume have loved each other for three years. Since they live and work together in a restaurant off the Basque coast that drains all their energy, they decide to take a well-deserved holiday far from their straining everyday life. During this stay, they meet Antonio. They ignore the fact their life is about to topple, propelling the three men into a complex romantic relationship. Our three heroes relate what they’ve lived through, how they feel throughout the development of their love triangle, and how they successfully survive several events that subject them to a tremendous ordeal. Between acceptance and sincere love, amid difficulties and compromises, they bring us through a universe of possibilities, demonstrating that, with a lot of love and a bit of humor, trios can also find their happy ending.

You all know what happened. If not, watch television, go search the Internet and you’ll see. In this context, I was browsing on a social network, and I’ve come across a post that made me react. Here it is (the author will remain unknown but I was allowed to copy and paste):

AMERICA HATES QUEERS

Not you, of course. You love us. Or, at least you love your bisexual girlfriend. Or maybe you love making out with girls when you get drunk. Or whatever.

I know that you mean well. Really, I know that you do. So if you genuinely mean well, prove it: listen, and pay attention.

This awful thing happened. You probably think it’s an anomaly. You probably think it’s an anomaly because gays can get married now, and sodomy isn’t illegal, and your local gay club has the best music. And this thing that happened IS an anomaly, in its scope. It IS NOT anomalous in its target.

I know that you can’t see that. You like the gays in your life. They’re fun and friendly and dress so well and can dance. You feel gay friendly. I appreciate that, really. And I still need somebody to have my back. I’m not fun and I’m not friendly. I don’t dress well, and I don’t dance. If you pretend that this world is a safe place for me, you can’t have my back.

Many of you, gay and straight, probably don’t see the violence that many of us face. Trans women see it. They are being killed off in numbers that make me feel ashamed. Shocking, shameful numbers. You should feel ashamed too. Gay marriage did not make queer bashing go away. It made some, normative gay people safer. And many of us are more vulnerable than ever.

Some of us still take lots of violent shit. We take it because we must, but we also do it to stand up for those of you who have never taken it. We do it for those of you who need to be safe, who can’t take it. I do it knowingly, and with pride. Somebody has to stand up for us. Please don’t forget that your suburban, married, normative life relies on those of us who take those hits. I’m proud to take those hits for you. But yeah, I do want credit. I don’t want to be invisible, and don’t pretend that you’re not like me. You’re queer too. Or your kids might be queer. Without me, and without my kind, you’d get bashed, or they’d get bashed, and possibly killed. I’m what stands between you and that. Me and my kind.

No soldier wants to be invisible. Queers, I’m fighting for you, and for me. Hets, I’m fighting for your kids, who haven’t yet come out.

Yeah, I’m angry today, and this is not my best essay (or even all that good). I don’t do sad well, and I don’t grieve well. I’m pretty good at rage. Today, I have a lot of rage. And I’m not surprised about what happened in Orlando, because this IS NOT ANOMALOUS, and THIS IS MY FUCKING LIFE. And I’m angry that the rest of you were so fucking oblivious to my life, and to what other queers experience that you are surprised.

People want us dead. Americans, non-Muslim Americans, want us dead. Stop pretending that it’s all love, and joy, and Islamic terrorism. It’s queer hating violent fucks who want us dead. That is not remotely new. Don’t pretend that love will solve it all, and that we’re all just people, and that labels are bad, and that it’s just Muslims who hate queers. Some of us get targeted, get killed, get beaten. Yeah, by your friends, by your neighbors, and by your families. Maybe even by you. By white-ass. fucking, all-American Americans.

I AM angry. I’m very, very, so fucking angry today. I’m so fucking angry about all those murdered kids. I’m so fucking angry for their mothers. And I’m so fucking angry that some of you are surprised. Really. Fucking. Angry.

Really. Really. Fucking. Angry.

And you know what? I didn’t see it that way. I thought this point of view was quite interesting and wanted to share in case you’d be interested too.

I feel the same today as when we saw the shooters kill all those persons at the Bataclan in Paris. People only there to have fun and live their lives. Yes, LGBT+ people get killed everyday, just for being themselves. Killed, beaten, raped, tortured, shamed, insulted… everywhere around the world. And not only in faraway countries, but ever-fucking-where. In countries where we’re supposedly open-minded… But this event is shocking by the number of killed and injured,

We still must remember what happened in Orlando, FL is the deadliest mass shooting in the US history. Even though there are a lot of LGBT+ people injured and killed every day, this is a horrendous, heartbreaking event.

I understand perfectly the author’s anger, because even if I’m not directly concerned by the hatred mentioned in the original post, I can feel it. But I also feel for the mothers, fathers, partners, families and friends of the one injured and dead. ❤

Anyway, it’s just my two cents about this (and the original author of the post’s).

All my thoughts and prayers to the families of the people killed or injured during the shooting, but also to all the people who’ve been once attacked just for being gay, lesbian, queer or trans.

On this perfect sunny Sunday, it’s the perfect time to talk about Spy Stuff.

What’s Spy Stuff, will you ask?

It’s not the usual spy story. Not the kind of book Jan Flemming could have written. I could well compare my friend Matthew J. Metzger to another author, but he’s rather exceptionnal and wouldn’t hold any comparison.

He describes himself as an asexual, transgender author, dragged up in the wet and windy British Isles. He currently lives and works in West Yorkshire, and has a special fondness for writing the rough-edged British working class society in which he grew up — warts and all.

What is this book about?

I could try to sum it up for you, but it wouldn’t do the book any justice. Here is the blurb, instead.

Anton never thought anyone would ever want to date him. Everyone knows nobody wants a transgender boyfriend, right? So he’s as shocked as anyone when seemingly-straight Jude Kalinowski asks him out, and doesn’t appear to be joking

The only problem is … well, Jude doesn’t actually know.

Anton can see how this will play out: Jude is a nice guy, and nice guys finish last. And Anton is transgender, and transgender people don’t get happy endings. If he tells Jude, it might destroy everything.

And if Jude tells anyone else … it will.

Intriguing, right? That’s what I thought when Matt told me about this story.

I was so intrigued, that I wanted to know more about it. If you do too, here is the link!

So, I was very lucky when he asked if I was interested in reading it before anyone else. Ecstatic doesn’t begin to cover it.

I’m ashamed to say that I’ve never read any of Matt’s books before. Yeah, I know! What a shame! That’s definitely something I’ll have to do after. Indeed, I fell in love with his writing. I was hooked within the first few pages. Funny in a dry way, smart, educational without ever being preachy, sad at times and to be honest, I couldn’t put it down from the moment I began to read it. So much, that I fell asleep on my Kindle at 2am, and resumed my reading right when I woke up the next morning. When I say I abso-fucking-lutely loved it, I’m not kidding!

I don’t want to spoil too much but I can assure you’ll love it. I felt his inner turmoil as if it were mine. The fear of being discovered by his school mates but also by his boyfriend, all the things he had to think about to not get caught, his father (damn, you just can’t like the man if you’re human!!), his lovely mother, his fantastic aunt, his new friends he has to learn how to trust… There is so much to love in this book!

To give you a taste of his writing (and probably make you want to buy Spy Stuff here), here is a little excerpt.

Anton slowly relaxed as Jude started to brighten up and just … talk. Jude chattering, Anton was starting to realise, was a sign that everything was alright. And Anton desperately wanted it to be, so he simply clung on to Jude’s hand — even though it was raining outside, and really too cold to not be wearing gloves — and let the noise wash over him all the way home.

Which meant, when he let them into the house and the smell of Aunt Kerry’s drunk spag bol invaded their clothes, Anton was … actually in kind of a good mood. Maybe he could do this. Maybe Jude would listen, even if in the end he still decided dating a trans guy wasn’t for him? There was a chance, right?

So when Lily appeared in the doorway, took one look at Jude, and screamed, Anton laughed.

« What the hell! » Jude yelped as she tore back into the kitchen.

« She’s –«

« Mummy, Anton’s friend’s on fire in the hall! »

« — kinda weird. »

« No shi — er, hell? »

« Just ignore her, » Anton advised, hanging up their coats. A nervous swoop made itself known when Jude grinned and kissed his ear, but he laughed it off and pushed him in the direction of the kitchen. « Go get us drinks or something. »

« It’s your house, » Jude said, but wandered off obediently. Anton took a moment to simply breathe before following him.

Lily had firmly decided — despite having seen Jude before and not having really clocked his hair — that Jude was on fire, and Anton had to wrestle a cup of water away from her before it ended up on Jude’s head.

« Nooo, give it back! » she wailed, stretching up to grab his belt as he put the cup in the sink and rummaged in the fridge for Cokes.

« Yeah, Anton, give it back. I might start melting the counter, » Jude said, sliding onto one of the stools at the island counters.

Aunt Kerry, busy with dinner, simply chuckled at the both of them.

« You’re being mean! » Lily yelled, stamping her foot, then turned on Jude, skidding across the tiles to grab at his trousers. « You need a fireman! »

« It’s always that colour, » Jude said in a serious voice, but he was wearing an ear-splitting grin, and Anton’s heart clenched hard at the sheer beauty of him, despite the battered face.

« No, it’s on fire! »

« No it’s not, » Jude said. « It’s ginger. »

« That’s not ginger, ginger biscuits are ginger! »

« They’re brown. »

« If they’re brown, » Lily said seriously, « then why are they called ginger biscuits, huh? »

« Because they have ginger in them. »

« Which makes them ginger and that’s not ginger and you’re on fire! »

« Lily, leave Jude alone, » Aunt Kerry interjected.

« Jew? » Jude dropped his head onto the counter with a muffled cackle into both hands, and Anton couldn’t help but laugh at sight of him.

« Oh God, » he said. « Come on, let’s go into the living room, and –«

« Noooo, you can’t, he’ll put the living room on fire! »

« Lily, seriously, stop it with the fire, he’s not on fire. »

« Jew! » she screeched, and Jude did a full body twitch like he was trying not to curl in on himself.

« Jew! »

« Jude! » Anton corrected.

« Jude, » she echoed scornfully, throwing Anton a fabulously dirty look for a kid who wasn’t even six yet. « Jude! »

« What? » Jude managed, coughing and rubbing at his eyes, still grinning.

« Tell Tasha to stop it! »

Anton froze. Like a bucket of ice water being dumped on his head, every muscle seized up, and the Coke in the cans started rattling in his shaking hands.

« Anton was Natasha only then she became Anton and Mummy says I have to say he but I forget sometimes, » Lily continued in a loud, inescapable voice. It bounced off the walls and tiles, and one of the cans slipped through Anton’s hands and burst open on the floor. Coke was flung everywhere in long, fizzy bursts, soaking his socks and trousers, and through Lily’s indignant shriek and Aunt Kerry’s yell, all he could see was — was —

Jude.

The wide-eyed, confused stare that Jude was giving him. And the single word, that word, the word Anton hated. « Natasha? »

Anton opened his mouth, found nothing coming up to save him, and did the only thing possible.

He bolted.

Now you can only want to read Anton and Jude’s story. It’s a Young Adult so there is no wild sex scenes, or anything like that. Sweet, funny, and as I said educational but never preachy. It’s a very good first book to start learning about transgender people. Because no, there isn’t enough books in the genre. We are members of a community, a growing one, but sometimes — too often — we forget the other letters in « LGBT » are just as important.

You can follow Matthew J. Metzger almost everywhere. Matthew roams mainly on Twitter and Facebook, has a free fiction page, runs a blog chronicling his own transition from female to male, and has a website. His young adult backlist can be found on his JMS Books author page. And as a last resort, he can also be contacted at mattmetzger@hotmail.co.uk

Now, all you have to do is click here to be the proud owner of your own copy, and discover why it’s called Spy Stuff!